As a criminal defense lawyer, I've got a number of my colleagues' phone numbers on speed dial - and they have mine.
A concern that I see with those prepaid legal service deals is that the ones I've dealt with (worked for a guy who was on one while I was in law school, and they're available through my state job) don't let you choose the attorney who'll be representing you. And you don't necessarily want your lawyer to be selected by virtue of being the guy whose is on top of the pile - but that's who they'll assign to you.
I think that you want to put at least as much care into selecting your lawyers for different areas of your life as you do your physicians. Remember, the guy who passes the bar with the lowest possible score on his tenth time still has "Esq." after his name, and still is technically qualified to take on a criminal case in court. Personally, though, I'd want someone with demonstrated ability and a familiarity with the subject matter.
There have been a few threads here in the past on "How to find the name of a good lawyer to have around in case you shoot someone?" Shouldn't be hard to find with a search.
A concern that I see with those prepaid legal service deals is that the ones I've dealt with (worked for a guy who was on one while I was in law school, and they're available through my state job) don't let you choose the attorney who'll be representing you. And you don't necessarily want your lawyer to be selected by virtue of being the guy whose is on top of the pile - but that's who they'll assign to you.
I think that you want to put at least as much care into selecting your lawyers for different areas of your life as you do your physicians. Remember, the guy who passes the bar with the lowest possible score on his tenth time still has "Esq." after his name, and still is technically qualified to take on a criminal case in court. Personally, though, I'd want someone with demonstrated ability and a familiarity with the subject matter.
There have been a few threads here in the past on "How to find the name of a good lawyer to have around in case you shoot someone?" Shouldn't be hard to find with a search.